According To Luke: Overcoming Prejudice

According To Luke: Overcoming Prejudice

Opening Illustration:

I love stories where people overcome the odds don’t you? 

1. Johnny Fulton was run over by a car at the age of three. He suffered crushed hips, broken ribs, a fractured skull, and compound fractures in his legs. It did not look as if he would live. But he would not give up. In fact, he later ran the half-mile in less than two minutes.

2. Walt Davis was totally paralyzed by polio when he was nine years old, but he did not give up. He became the Olympic high jump champion in 1952.

3. Lou Gehrig was such a clumsy ball player that the boys in his neighborhood would not let him play on their team. But he was committed. He did not give up. Eventually, his name was entered into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

4. Woodrow Wilson could not read until he was ten years old. But he was a committed person. He became the twenty-eighth President of the United States.

5. At the age of seven, he had to go to work to help support his family. At nine, his mother died. At twenty-two, he lost his job as a store clerk. At twenty-three, he went into debt and became a partner in a small store. At twenty-six, his partner died leaving him a huge debt. By the age of thirty-five, he had been defeated twice when running for a seat in Congress. At the age of thirty-seven, he won the election. At thirty-nine, he lost his reelection bid. At forty-one, his four-year-old son died. At forty-two, he was rejected for a land officer role. At forty-five, he ran for the Senate and lost. At forty-seven, he was defeated for the nomination for Vice President. At forty-nine, he ran for Senate again and lost again. At the age of fifty-one, he was elected President of the United States. He is said to have saved the Union. Who is this man? Honest Abe Lincoln of course!

If you read the Bible you will come across a lot of characters who had to overcome a lot of adversity. We all know their names. But did you know that there is an overcoming chapter in the Bible? This chapter in the Bible is all about having an overcoming spirit and attitude. Of course, that chapter is the chapter that we are looking at today. We are looking at the overcoming chapter of Luke 17. Two weeks ago we learned about overcoming temptation. Jesus wants to give us tools to overcome temptation and also reminds us not to lead others into temptation. Last week, we talked about having an overcoming faith. After all, the only way to consistently overcome temptation and sin is to have an overcoming faith. Today, we will learn about how to overcome prejudice. Now most people will read this section of Scripture and believe that it is all about giving thanks and showing proper gratitude. Friends, brothers, that is such a small part of what is going on. Let me attempt to pull the curtain back for you this morning to revel to you a deeper meaning to this story. You see, this story is really about overcoming prejudice. 

Let me give this disclaimer, I am not preaching this message because of what is going on in America. I had no idea that this Scripture was going to line up with the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots. You know that I have been preaching verse by verse through Luke and this is just where we are. I find that to be providential. It is proof of God’s sovereignty. So fill in these blanks this morning… 

Luke 17 Is All About Overcoming! 

Overcoming Temptation, Overcoming Faith and Overcoming Prejudice!

Luke 17:11-19 ESV

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

3 Lessons Learned From The Lepers

I. The Plight of the Lepers vs. 11-13

Luke 17:11-12 ESV

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Notice The…

A. Condition of the Lepers vs. 11-12

1. Rejected 

Leviticus 13:44-46 NASB

44 he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head. 45 “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Numbers 5:2-3 NASB

2 “Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person. 3 You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.”

2. Religiously Unclean

Leviticus 13:3 ESV

3 and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

2 Chronicles 26:20-23 ESV

20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. 23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

3. Rotten

Leprosy Defined:

Point:

What do you know about leprosy? 

Well let me inform you.  Leprosy is an ugly, debilitating disease that affects the extremities of the body.  The disease attacks your skin. If you have leprosy then you will have lesions, boils, oozing sores, and your skin will be irritated to the point where it begins to peal off in patches. Then disease moves to your toes, your fingers, you nose, ears, lips, and even your eyelids. The disease will freeze the nerve endings in these areas and eventually everything just starts falling off. 

Isn’t it interesting that this man who approaches Jesus is said to be a man “full of leprosy”. This means that this person was experiencing the final stages of the disease. He only had a few days and weeks to live most likely. His body would have been at the point of critical deterioration. 

This mans appearance would have been utterly frightening. Imagine walking along the ancient roads of Judea and Galilee and suddenly a man with no fingers, ears, lips and eyelids comes toward you shouting your name. It would be like a scene out of a zombie movie. 

Point:

Friends, make no mistake, these men shouting Jesus’ name for healing is a picture of who we are today. We are born into a disgusting, dirty and sinful life. Spiritually, without the healing of Jesus, we all look like these men. Our spiritual bodies deteriorating and rotting away. 

Jeremiah the prophet had this to say about our sick hearts, 

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

Listen to what Paul says about himself, 

Romans 7:18-24 ESV

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. {19} For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. {20} But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. {21} I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good........{24} Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

B. Cry of the Lepers vs. 13

Point:

These men desperately needed help so they went to the source of all help…Jesus. They called Him “Master” signifying belief in Jesus. They ask Jesus to have mercy of them. This takes me to my next point. 

3 Lessons Learned From The Lepers

I. The Plight of the Lepers vs. 11-13

II. The Perspective of Jesus vs. 14-16

Luke 17:14 ESV

14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 

Point:

Imagine the hatred between Serbs and Muslims in modern Bosnia, the enmity between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland or the feuding between street gangs in Los Angeles or New York, and you have some idea of the feeling and its causes between Jews and Samaritans in the time of Jesus. Both politics and religion were involved.

Jesus’ Reaction To The Lepers Was…

A. Attentive vs. 14

“When he saw them…”

B. Affectionate vs. 14

“he said to them”

C. Accepting vs. 16

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

3 Lessons Learned From The Lepers

I. The Plight of the Lepers vs. 11-13

II. The Perspective of Jesus vs. 14-16

III. The Pardoning of The Leper vs. 17-19

Luke 17:17-19 ESV

17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Follow The Leper’s Equation To Healing!

A. Admittance 

This leper knew that he had a problem. A problem that no one could fix. A problem that no man could cure. A problem that religion did not have the answer for. There was no medicine. No vaccine. No amount of social distancing or mask wearing was going to cure his ill. Do you know what I found most interesting about the COVID-19 pandemic, there were perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who possessed the virus without being aware of the virus. They had no idea that they were even sick. This of course serves as a spiritual parallel to sin. There are millions who possess sin but do not see it as a problem. This leper knew that he had bigger problems than just a skin disease. He had a heart disease and at that point in his life, no one could cure it. So what is your disease?

Arrogance 

Argumentative Attitudes 

Haughtiness 

Addiction

Gluttonous Tendencies

Racism and Prejudice 

Could it be that you have more than one problem? You might possess more than one disease? Could it be that you are simply not saved, that you are in need of a new heart, and that you have come to the end of yourself. YOU NEED HELP! 

Who will help you? 

B. Acceptance 

Once the leper knew that he had a problem, he needed to find a cure. He had heard the stories. Perhaps he had even seen the miracles. Either way, this man believed that Jesus was the answer. Jesus is the cure. He knew that Jesus was the only way out of the mess that he was in. If he wanted a heart transplant, it would be Jesus to perform the surgery. Sometimes it takes people a long time to get to the place where this leper found himself. We think that we can do this life on our own. We think that we are strong enough, macho enough, big enough to shoulder our own problems. We don’t need the help. Well after a long day of living on our own, we finally realize that we are not big enough, strong enough or macho enough to shoulder the weight of our own disappointments. We call this conviction. God does convict, but praise His name that He does not leave us in that state. God wants to transform us through the power of Christ. 

The leper acknowledged his problem, then he accepted help from Christ. 

C. Adoration

The next step in the lepers transformation was worship. He praised Jesus for what He had done. Jesus did not just give this man new skin that Oil of Olay would be jealous of, but Jesus also saved him. He received salvation. He was also socially restored. Jesus answered this man’s greatest need and provided for his greatest problem. So he worshipped. Do you know what worship is like and why it is so important?

Illustration:

The other day I noticed that my truck needed and oil change. It was also time for the tires to be balanced and rotated. I went to the mechanic and he got to work. He inspected the vehicle. Not only did my tires need to be balanced and rotated, they were also low on air. He filled them up. Turns out that I needed a new air filter. He fitted me with a new one, throwing the old one out. He went underneath the car, where no one sees, and drained out the oil. It was dirty. Gunky. He put new oil in place of the old. The engine is the heart of the automobile and breaks down with bad oil. New oil gave new life to my engine. The mechanic told me how to properly operate the vehicle, checked my lights, and gave me the bill. Oh yeah, I had to pay for all of this. 

Worship is like getting your spiritual oil changed. When you come to worship God, God inspects you. He makes sure that you are properly balanced, that nothing is out of wack. Worship fills us up. Worship takes our filthy way of thinking and throws it out. Worship cleans our mind, and renews our souls. Through worship God gets rid of the old, the gross, the gunky, and gives us new, holy, and rejuvenating. Worship opens us up to God, revealing to God what no one else can see, and God does real work, making us into new people. 

Thankful, the bill is paid for. 

Are you thankful for Jesus today? Lord knows I am. 

D. Alteration 

The leper when through the steps and his life was forever altered. Your life can be altered as well. Will you come to King Jesus today? What is holding you back? If only we could see the spiritual state of our soul the way that we see our physical bodies. If we could, we would be running to Jesus. 

Titus 3:5 ESV

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

Go The Jesus Way, Love All People!